The pH of different soils - Why it matters!

This week we have had 2 visitors to Seeds R us.  Part of our job is to be able to assess problems and work out how to solve them for the land owner.  Mr Wiliams (aka James) taught us about different grasses and fertilisers.

                      Urea - Nitrogen                    Super Phosphate                      Sulphur

Why do we use them and how do they work?  He mentioned this term pH - the potential of Hydrogen.

Different soils and plants like different pH's.  Some are acidic and some are basic.  Wow - what does this mean?

What an array of colours in the different soils.  Which ones are neutral? 

Sooo Mr Pollock (aka Nick) came in and taught us about soils and where they come from.  We were able to look at them under the microscope and test them for pH - acidity levels.

Mr Pollick AKA Nick is an Agronomist.  Here he is talking about different soils!

Why do we need to know this?  Can you comment below what you think this information helps with?

What has Seeds R Us been up to?

Comparing colour charts to make a judgement on Medium or Low Phosphorous. 

"Mary and Bob" Interviewing Seeds R Us employees about the safety witnessed on our farm trip!

Being Interviewed by Government officials on farm health and safety. 

Interviews on farm safety. 

A tough interviewer - Charlie made sure he got honesty buy asking questions carefully. 

Microscope work!  Hunting for nodules on the clover. 

Seeing clover nodules with our new microscope. 

Plantain seed germinating and close up of Sub clover and the hairy leaves! 

Germination test to see the percentage of geminating seeds. 

Measuring the growth rate! 

Whangara Farm B5 Station Agronomist visit

Our second farm study was a huge success despite the weather!  It was cold but the rain held off till we were back at school!  Whangara is a hive of activity for research!  They study everything they can!  From the weather and soil temperatures to grass growth rate, seed trials and drought resistance, erosion control and pole nurseries to breeds of sheep  - merino cross!  What an adventure.  

I really enjoyed seeing the pole nursery and how that worked with cutting off the branches and ramming them into the ground.  Evidently they just grow - put down a root and off they go!  Amazing.  No chemicals needed!  A really sustainable and cheap way of helping the environment.  It was a pleasure to see Kaitiakitanga in action.  

The seed trials were interesting and gave us some great tips for how to measure our own trials but cutting and weighing.  We also found out a great germination test to have a go at!  

Work work work!  So much to carry on with now! 

Dr Lisa Hulme-Moir veterinary pathologist visit

Seeds 'R Us had a visit from a vet who works in a lab that tests animal samples for diseases.  We were very lucky to be able to hear how she does her job and what sorts of things she tests.  Mainly blood! We learnt that red blood cells are the cells that take oxygen around the body and the white blood cells are the ones that fight bacteria and diseases!  White blood cells are much bigger than red ones.

Not all diseases are the same and don't get transferred the same.  For example diseases that effect cows mostly don't effect sheep or humans.  There are some that do though!  We got to look at some microscope slides and see some close-ups of blood cells which are in the powerpoint below.

We were very interested in the mycoplasma bovis bacteria and how that is spread.  It is effecting many farms around NZ particularly dairy farms.  Dr Lisa was able to clarify for us how this is happening.

Lisa thought she was going to talk for 30 mins but ended up staying 1 hr 20 because of our questions!

Agronomists Soil Testing May 15

Today we began testing our soil samples from Pukemata to learn how to conduct the test.  Once we are confident, we can carry out the test in the field whilst on the job.  We learnt about extracting, pipetting and comparing to a colour chart. This is how the industry does it!  

Angus also shared with us what a "ruminant" is and we started to look at the anatomy of the animals on a farm.  I look forward to the posters explaining ruminants and their health issues! 

Pukemata Station - May 9

Today we went to Pukemata Station with Rongomatane. We spent the morning learning about farm life and the job of a farmer.  This introductory visit was to familiarise ourselves with a farm and the types of jobs and needs that a farmer has to do.   We watched the dogs working and a sheep being shorn!  Not a single nick!  Well done Wock!  And well done Angus for your wool sweeping skills!

From there we went to lunch and Wock even cooked us some sausages!  What a treat.  Angus, Mrs Allan and Wock were excellent hosts and we had a lovely time playing on the tennis court and tramp!

After lunch it was time for some science.  We put our square metres out with tent pegs and began to investigate what was in the soil and around the stems of the grass.  We had to count the species.  For some species there was too many to count so we had to use < and > to describe the amount.  It is interesting how farmers use different types of pasture to fatten the stock up!  Scientists work with farmers closely and lots of data collection is done the same way we did it!

Thank you to the parents who accompanied us, Ro, Tracey, Karen and Pam - Ethan's Nana.  Thank you also to Mrs Spence and Rachel who helped us in the morning.

It was a lovely day and we were treated to some spectacular views.  Thank you Allans!